Manufacture of bristles



y 8, 1951 J. M. SCHULTZ 2,552,221

MANUFACTURE OF BRISTLES Filed Nov. 10, 1948 INVENTOR. JOACH/M M. SCHUL TZ Patented May 8, 1951 MANUFACTURE OF BRISTLES Joachim M. Schultz, New York, N. Y., assignor to Delta Brush Manufacturing Corporation, New

York, N. Y.

Application November 10, 1948, Serial No. 59,218

1 Claim.

This invention relates to the manufacture of bristles for use in the manufacture of flat brushes; it relates particularly to the manufacture of bristles of the converging type for use in artists and paint brushes and to methods of shaping the bristles in conformity with this purpose.

The term brush of the converging type used in this specification applies to a brush consisting of bristles or bristle bundles of which the root portion extending from the ferrule is straight whereas the end or working portion is arched or bent. If these bristles or bristle bundles are mounted in the ferrule of the brush in such a manner that their arc-shaped ends are directed towards a common area the bristle formation results to which the term of a converging type is here attributed. A fiat brush of this type is shown in Fig. 1 of the attached drawing.

As generally known, the bristles of certain animals, for instance, of pigs and particularly of boars are frequently used in the manufacture of brushes. These animal bristles have a shape which conforms to the contours of the animal body. In order to render these naturally bent bristles adapted for use in the manufacture of brushes they are straightened. Various methods and apparatus have been devised to perform this straightening work; the bristles have, for instance, been separated by combing, confined in parallel relationship, subjected to the combined action of heat and moisture and dried.

It is the main object of this invention to impart to the thus straightened bristles a configuration which renders them adapted for use in brushes of the converging type.

It is an equally important object of this invention to impart to the finished bristles shape permanency. I

A preferred manner of achieving these objects is described in the following with reference to the attached drawing.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 shows a fiat brush of the converging type, and

Fig. 2 shows the shape of the individual bristles as a result of the treatment which forms the subject matter of this invention.

The bristles which have been straightened by any conventional method are distributed on flat supports as a thinly superposed layer; the bristles and the supports are moistened with water and the bristles are covered with wet, for instance, paper sheets. Hereupon the bristles are exposed to the sun or any other equally mild heating source, the temperature imparted to the bristles not to exceed about 50 C. As a consequence of this treatment the bristles assume the shape which is shown in Fig. 2 and which consists of a substantially straight root portion I and an arch-shaped end portion 2.

In order to impart to these bristles shape-permanency they are combed and collected into small bundles; care must be taken that the individual bristles are properly aligned in the bundles and extend with their bow-shaped ends in one and the same direction. The bundles are now wrapped in covers, for instance, cloth covers and charged into a water boiler; here the bristles are cooked for about 2 to 2 hours. The bristle bundles are now removed from the boiler, uncovered and placed on supports, for instance, perforated trays as a thin layer. The supports are placed in a drier and the bristles are dried at a low temperature preferably not exceeding 60 C.

20 A small quantity of a whitening containing being fixed are so positioned in the ferrule that their end portions 2 uniformly converge in the manner shown in Fig. 1.

The invention has been described by way of example only and the restricted manufacturing steps may be modified through a Wide range within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A method for imparting to bristles for use in brushes of the converging type a permanent curvature comprising exposing previously straightened bristles in the wet state on a flat support to the influence of a heating source at a tempera ture not exceeding about 50 C. whereby the bristles are rebent at their end portions, aligning the same into bundles with their bent end portion extending in the same direction, wrapping the same into covers, cooking the same in water for about 2 to 2 hours, uncovering the bristles, placing the uncovered bristles on flat supports and drying the same.

JOACHIM M. SCHULTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 9,869 Williams July 19, 1853 149,992 Clinton Apr. 21, 1874 332,515 Hamilton Dec. 15, 1885 

